To Calgarians, the city is starting to feel like a punching bag. Its primary industry suffers one body blow after another. Oil prices crashed at the end of 2014 as surprising growth in U.S. shale production boosted supply while OPEC refused to cut its output. Major investment firms, finally recognizing
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Views from the Beltline: The Cartel Still Rules … Sort of
It isn’t easy to convince nominally free-market Albertans that monopoly and government interference in the market made us rich, but of course they did. Nothing has contributed more to the province’s coffers than OPEC, the oil-producing countries’ cartel. OPEC’s control of supply has kept oil prices well above what a
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: OPEC Rides to the Rescue
Although Albertans have always thought of their enviable wealth resulting from entrepreneurship, hard work and the free market, that isn’t quite the case. We are an entrepreneurial place and we work hard, although no harder I suspect than other Canadians, but the free market hasn’t had all that much to
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: I Missed This Last April. It Seems Justin Did Too.
This comes directly from the business page of Canada’s most oil-friendly newspaper, The Calgary Herald. It’s from April 24, 2017 to be exact. China’s ambassador to Canada tried to allay concerns about a possible free trade pact between the two countries, addressing worries surrounding state-owned enterprises snapping up oilsands assets.
Continue readingSaudis to Alberta—Tough Shit!
Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi didn’t say quite what I’ve suggested in my headline, but only the words differed, not the sentiment. The Saudis, as we all know, have been opening up the oil taps lately, driving their production up and driving the pri…
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Podcast: Where is Quebec going after the strikes, where is Canada’s economy going after the oil crash?
I have two Canadian updates this week. The first is from Nora Loreto on what’s happening in Quebec after the fall’s anti-austerity strikes. Nora is a Quebec City-based journalist and labour activist. She gives an account not only of what happened during the strikes in Quebec, but also what to expect in their wake (see the […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Boosting the economy for the rest of us
Elites and the talking heads in the media are arguing about how to respond to Canada’s soured economic outlook. Who should try to boost the economy, the federal government via fiscal stimulus or the Bank of Canada via monetary policy? But while elites argue amongst themselves, the overriding context is a transfer and concentration of […]
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Oil Price: Has Saudi Arabia gambled and lost?
Is it better to have gambled and lost? Saudi Arabia is calling the shots in the steep price decline of oil in recent weeks, by refusing to cut its output so as to remove production from the market and increase prices. Why is it doing this? One possible reason is
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Political Eh-conomy Radio: Jim Stanford on Canada’s economy
https://politicalehconomy.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/podcast-1411212-jim-stanford.mp3 Today’s episode is the last of 2014 as I’ll be away spending the holidays with family. For a bit of a year-end summary of Canada’s economy, my one guest is Jim Stanford who joins me for an extended conversation. Jim is the chief economist at Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, and
Continue readingRising oil prices will end urban sprawl … or not?
A popular assumption about rising oil prices is that people will have to drive a lot less and use public transit a lot more. This, in turn, will lead to greater housing density and fewer roads, i.e. less sprawl. And thus will be created the compact city—more efficient both financially
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